Better late than never
by shir0usagi
Summary: After finding out about one of Gray's 'conquests', Juvia realizes that maybe all she can be for him is a friend, so she decides to try and be just that. The thing is, Gray doesn't see her as just a friend. But you know what they say, it's better late than never. [GRUVIA]
1. Chapter 1

_**AN:** Hi! A friend of mine here on FFnet suggested I write a story about Gray and Juvia trying to act more friendly-like, so I ended up with this idea. _

_Warning: This is not a 'Juvia getting over Gray' fic, in case that's what you thought from the summary. She is just trying to control her overly attached behavior and act friendly towards him. I doubt Juvia would ever let go of her feelings for Gray, unless he did something terribly awful to her, which he won't.   
_

* * *

**Chapter 1**

It was a beautiful day. The sun shed its bright light upon Magnolia as Juvia made her way towards Fairy Tail. She opened the guild door and the vivid noises coming from the guild hall filled her ears in an instant; an incoherent mix of blabbering and laughter, with some yells in between. Loud and lively, in a way only Fairy Tail knew. As she walked in, her gaze wandered over the familiar faces and soon fell on the object of her interest; Gray, sitting at the bar.

Without a second thought, she decided to go and greet him, and hopefully hang with him. He was alone after all and didn't seem busy. When she was halfway there, she saw Cana settling herself on a stool beside him. Juvia was far enough for them not to notice her presence but close enough to hear the two friends talking.

"Morning!" she said, placing her empty glass of beer on the bar.

"S'up?" Gray took a sip of his coffee. Then he glanced at the empty glass that waited for Mirajane to be refilled. "Which one is it?" he joked, referring to the presumably fair amount of alcohol Cana had consumed this morning.

"Dunno, I lost count." she replied honestly, scratching the back of her head. "So… I saw you leave with a chick from a bar last night."

Juvia had taken a few steps forward, but then she stopped. She didn't like where this was going.

"Oh, you were that drunk that was _swaying_ all over the street?"

"Probably. Hey don't change topic!" she snapped, before leaning a little closer. "So did you get laid?" she added with a meaningful wink.

He averted his eyes. "That's none of your business."

Cana smirked, oblivious to the bluenette standing a few meters behind them. "I don't need an answer anyways. I know you did, you man whore."

He scowled slightly at the statement, but got over it with a chuckle. "Isn't that a bit harsh?"

Juvia felt the ground crumbling under her feet and suddenly the whole world was spinning around her at ruthless speed. Those things she heard pierced right through her heart, but she was frozen at her place, a part of her desperately refusing to believe it, as though if she stayed there she would find out all this was just a distasteful joke.

Meanwhile Mira came over to fill Cana's glass. "Don't sleep around too much Gray, alright?" she said, wearing her signature warm smile. Gray let out an exasperated sigh.

Mira went on "At least make sure you use protection. You don't want to catch any venereal disease now do you?"

He rolled his eyes before running his palm in his face. Cana giggled at his reaction.

"Will you cut it out you two?" he muttered, his face still resting in his palm.

Juvia didn't need to hear more. She placed her hand above her aching heart, her fingers clutching on her cloth. She turned around and walked towards the door, striving to hold back the tears that threatened to fall, and failing miserably to do so. She didn't even notice that she almost bumped on Wendy. When she got out, she burst into sobs. Tears kept coming like a stream and scattered down on the soiled ground just like the pieces of her broken heart. She couldn't control over it, nor did she want to try anymore, it felt like she had to cry it out in order to lift this burden off her chest.

Dark clouds emerged from the skies and as the daylight dispersed from Magnolia, heavy droplets of gloomy rain started falling on the ground.

Despite often spacing out in her own daydreaming, Juvia wasn't all that delusional. Gray was a handsome man (the most handsome one in the whole world in Juvia's opinion) so it was natural that he would have his share of women in his life. But she felt that she and Gray had gotten closer over the time. They spend time together, they were having fun together and most of the times he seemed to be enjoying her company... She had thought that, little by little, they were making progress, whether that was beyond the verge of friendship or not. And…she wanted to believe that, at this very point, if he were to be attracted in someone, then that would be her. That he would eventually feel for her even a little bit of what she felt for him. Sure she had love rivals, a lot of them actually, but she had thought it was one-sided by their part, that Gray-sama didn't reciprocate their interest, just like he didn't with hers just yet. But it seems that it was all just wishful thinking. It was frustrating, she had invested so many heartbeats, and butterflies in her stomach, and dreams in him, and she would swear that sometimes the treatment she got from Gray was different from the way he treated their other female guildmates, yet he would prefer to share something more intimate with a random someone over her. And that hurt. It was a bitter reminder that her love was totally, utterly unrequited.

* * *

Juvia was curled in her bed, with a Gray plush trapped in her arms. She had stayed there a whole day and now her limbs felt weak. Her hair was messy, her nose was stuffed and she needed a bath, but Juvia couldn't care less.

She always believed they were meant for each other, that he was the sunshine in her rain and she would be the warmth in his frosty winter. She was certain that one day he would realize it too, he just needed time to find out. All she had to do is show how happy he made her and try her best to make him happy in return. He would brush her off from time to time but she didn't mind; she always took it as mere toying with her affection, which she took quite delight into.

But now that certainty had somehow wavered. What if he was being serious about it and had no intention to change his mind?

_He did tell you flat out that he wasn't interested…_ a little voice echoed in her head.

She shook her head in denial. _But we've been getting closer! Juvia can feel it! We…we won together in the Grand Magic Games with our teamwork and….and he held Juvia's hand when she was worried-_

_He was comforting a friend… _The annoying little voice responded, forcing her to see things the other way around.

Maybe that's what she was to him, just a friend. One of the many friends he had in Fairy Tail. And maybe she would stay a friend forever.

She didn't know how to deal with this new discovery. If saw her this way, then that would mean that she was pestering him with her behavior? That he would never be hers? What was she supposed to do then?

A knock on the door called her from the depths of her thoughts back to reality. Juvia didn't bother to answer. That way whoever it was might think she wasn't there.

"Juvia? Are you in?" a familiar female voice sounded a few moments later.

A few more moments of silence followed and just when she thought the girl outside had left, the door creaked open. Levy and Lucy hesitantly made a few steps forward.

"Hey…" Levy muttered.

Juvia looked at the two figures; she didn't have the strength to tell them to go away, and deep inside she might want some friendly company.

"Lucy too?"

"Hi… I came over to return some books to Levy-chan and we thought that we haven't seen you in two days. Mira-san said you weren't on a mission so…"

"We came to check if you're okay…" Levy completed her words.

"How considerate of you..." she said and blew her nose in a tissue.

The two girls walked in and sat on the bed, brushing the used tissues aside. Juvia sat up and placed her plush on her lap.

"Is anything wrong?"

"Nothing…it's just…Juvia realized she has gotten nowhere with Gray-sama…" She brushed some tears that formed on the corner of her eyes.

Lucy and Levy glanced at each other. This is Juvia, it was only natural that it would be something related to Gray. What did not make sense was that Juvia was sulking about it. While it was true that Gray was nowhere as vivid as Juvia on that matter, it had never bothered her before.

Juvia noticed their questioning looks so she spoke before they asked. "Gray-sama is…dating other girls."

"Oh…"

"Juvia didn't know…" she fought back the sobs as her fingers played nervously with the hair of her plush, "and she was hurt when she found out, because she had thought that…nevermind…"

"Aw sweetie…" Lucy placed an arm around her back. Both she and Levy could wordlessly relate to the situation, as they too happened to have feelings for their own someone, and she was sure that if they were in Juvia's shoes, they would be just as hurt. And she had to admit she was surprised herself; although Gray was one of her closest friends, she didn't really know anything about his personal life, as he never talked about it. She reckoned that he wasn't dense like Natsu (who was probably clueless about the opposite gender), she could tell as much, but she could also tell that he cared for Juvia more than he let out and she did believe that once he came to terms with his feelings, he would finally open up to the bluenette.

"Juvia doesn't know what to think or do anymore…"

After a few moments of mutual silence, Levy spoke up. "Maybe you should take things easy for a while. Y'know, not force things and let them flow. If you're just nakama, then let it be. Because, the more you think about it, the more depressed you'll get. And being sad never solved anything."

"Levy is right. Maybe what he needs from you now is a friend. Try to be just that. And… you never know how things will evolve in the future!" Lucy said in an encouraging tone.

"Right." the small bluenette agreed. "It's amazing what time can do. Maybe sometime he'll fall in love with you!"

"Or maybe you'll even forget your _stupid crush_!" Lucy exclaimed, though Juvia got the impression that she was trying to persuade herself rather than her.

Juvia glanced at them in disbelief. "Have you ever tried this?"

"Well yeah…" Levy admitted shyly.

She raised a brow. "And…it works out for you?"

"Not yet…" Lucy said bitterly.

Juvia sighed out of disappointment.

"Hey" Levy patted her shoulder, "you can try it for a change and see how it goes. You have nothing to lose."

"You'll still be there for him, maybe not the way you wanted, but we don't always get what we want in life, right? Besides, it's better than being miserable about it" Lucy assured.

"Just be a friend…" she muttered, as though she was trying to comprehend what that phrase meant. The two friends nodded.

"Juvia doesn't know how to do that!" she then exclaimed in a firm, serious tone.

The girls sighed and dropped their heads. "Come on now Juvia, you have many friends, I'm sure you know how to act friendly around them."

"But Gray-sama is different!"

"I know, but that's the point! To act like he isn't."

Juvia opened her mouth to protest but closed it instantly and Levy let out a small sound of relief.

"Well I'd better go. Natsu and Happy said they would come over to cook dinner and I'm afraid they'll set my house on fire." Lucy said as she got up.

"Me too, have to meet with Jet and Droy for a mission."

Walking to the door, the two girls told her they would be there for her, should she ever need to talk about it and Juvia thanked them. Once the door was closed, she slid down and hugged her legs.

She wasn't sure about this, about how she was supposed to do that. She had been in love with Gray since the day they first met, and that had become an unbreakable part of who she is. She had learnt to live showing him her affection. In fact, she could hardly remember how she was before he came into her life. She recalled that it felt lonely, but other than that, it was all vague. As though she had no dreams, no purpose worth trying for. Besides, she knew that he was the only one for her, the one who brought the sunshine. Was she supposed to give up on that? No, she couldn't do that. And here she had to disagree with Lucy on something: in Juvia's aspect, when you find that special person, you fight for them, not wait for the feeling to fade along the way. It was bound to never fade.

But then again, she thought, she didn't have to negate her feelings, just not demonstrate or force them on him. She could give it a try somehow. Just for a while. If being nakama was all he wanted from her, then she would be just that. This way she would give him a break from her clingy behavior, which would probably be more of a hindrance to him, for the last thing she wanted is Gray-sama to think of her as a burden, and let her mind off this mental struggle she's been through the last couple of days.

* * *

_**AN:** I'm so sorry to make my beloved Juvia sad, but it was essential for the story. But I'll make it up to her later on! And although Juvia is now called to act somehow beyond her normal self, I'll try to keep both her and Gray as much in character as I can._

_I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for reading._


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN:** I was surprised with the feedback this story received. It might not seem that much to you, but for me it was really important and it made me happy. So thank you for faving/following/reviewing! Now I'm afraid that I might let you down, but if I do, please go easy on me alright? hehe. Anyway, I'm trying to find a good updating pace (because this is the first story I haven't entirely written beforehand), so was thinking that weekly updates are okay? Also, I was wondering if the length (2k+ words) is alright. You can tell me what you think._

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**Chapter 2**

Juvia took another day off the guild, to pull herself together, gather her thoughts and adapt to her new resolve. So the day after, she went to Fairy Tail, greeted the friends she walked into, as always, ordered a beverage and settled herself on a table.

Soon after, Gray sat next to her. "Hey!"

"Good morning Gray-sama!" Well, she was too into that habit to drop it now, so she kept the honorific. She couldn't help but form a smile; she had missed his presence after all.

"So umm…where have you been? Hadn't seen you around for days."

She replied before she got lost in his dark eyes. "Juvia just took some time to get her mind off…things!"

"I see. You should have thrown a warning, y'know! I… -I mean _we_ were starting to get worried." From the first day she was gone, something had felt unnatural to Gray and as long as he realized it was Juvia's absence, he would occasionally scan the guild hall to see if she was there.

"Is that so? Th- Then Juvia will make sure to do so next time."

Silence followed. Juvia looked at him, hands in his pockets as he gazed leisurely at the guild hall.

She cleared her throat. "So…" she started, playing with her teacup to diffuse any trace of nervousness. She continued when his eyes trailed back at her. "Juvia will just be Gray-sama's friend from now on…" She had decided the previous day she should declare this new turn in their relationship.

Gray raised a brow. "I don't know if it has fallen in your notice but…" he leaned slightly closer, "we're already friends Juvia." he joked.

Juvia tried to keep her cool as he flashed her his signature smirk. "That might be true, but the case was different for Juvia."

He gave her a questioning look, prompting her to explain further.

"Well… hasn't Juvia been sort of…you know…annoying?"

He furrowed his brows in surprise. "No, I wouldn't say so." He took some to proceed if what he said was true. She could be a bit weird, even scary at times, and sometimes he made him uncomfortable, to the point he didn't know how to react. But _annoying_ would be an overstatement. If anything, her company could be very entertaining. She just was…Juvia. Simple as that.

"Thank you. Anyways, Juvia will be more considerate of our friendship."

Gray was still not fully getting this, so he decided to change subject. "Any plans for today?"

"Yes. Juvia had been lazy the past few days, and doesn't have the needed money for her rent. There's not much to fill in, so a small job should suffice."

"I could help you with that, if you want." he offered casually and she blinked in surprise. "I have pretty much nothing to do, Lucy and Natsu went fishing with Happy and Erza is on that solo S-class mission." He went on as she said nothing, "Plus I kinda need the money too."

She finally remembered how to speak. "Yes, Juvia would love t- I mean, Juvia is fine with that." She stared at him and sucked in a deep breath, still not believing that he proposed her a mission together. "J- Juvia will go have a look at the request board!"

And with that she walked to the board, putting effort not to jump from joy on the way. She reminded herself, she had to be discreet and keep her thoughts to herself.

Her eyes wandered on the requests and soon Gray appeared behind her. "Found anything good?"

"Well…what about this?" she pointed a piece of paper on the board. "Capture a bandit at Akane beach."

Gray read the details and nodded in agreement. Catching bandits was always an easy way to make money. And this particular job had quite a generous reward, given the easiness of the task. Akane was ridiculously close to Magnolia (they didn't even need a train trip) and they would probably be done within a day or two.

They agreed to go pack their stuff, then meet at the South Gate Park in an hour. When Juvia showed up, Gray was already there. They greeted each other and set their way towards Akane. That was the last time they talked and, after ten minutes of walk, Gray knew that an awkward silence had fallen upon them.

He took some random glimpses at Juvia as they walked. He thought that she was unexpectedly silent, staring straight ahead the whole time. Normally, she would be blabbering about how excited she is to go on a job with him and how great it would be that they'll finally have some alone time together –that would be when he would start to freak out, or she would cut the circulation in his arm by squeezing it tight in her own smaller arms. None of that happened so far. And that was definitely out of her character, it was like Natsu being a gentleman.

He hadn't really understood what she meant by what she said earlier this morning, but now he was starting to get an idea. Gray wasn't a fool, he knew that Juvia had some certain feelings for him and she made sure to show him that in every way possible. But today she was…different. Not distant but still different. He couldn't help but assume that maybe she reconsidered her feelings.

Before he had time to think how he felt about that, Juvia spoke up, eyes still looking straight. "Thank you."

"About what?"

She finally looked at him with a warm smile."For coming with Juvia on this job!"

He shrugged his shoulders. "No need to thank me about it. That's what friends are for." He remembered that he had also gone on a mission with Lucy, a time when Natsu was away searching for Igneel and she was pretty desperate about her rent.

Juvia flinched at his words for a brief moment but her warm expression returned before he could notice. "Right." She stuttered and averted her gaze once again.

Gray gave her another suspicious glance. _Yeah , that should be it… _he thought. That would make sense. And it made things easier. Now he wouldn't have to keep brushing her off, or possibly hurt her feelings. He wouldn't want that because he cared for Juvia and he wanted her to be happy. Besides, he liked her company and he often felt he would enjoy it even more if he didn't worry that she might blurt out something weird in the next minute and kill the mood. So her getting over it would be a good thing…_right? _he asked himself. _Yup! Definitely a good thing… _Part of him though wasn't 100% sure. He ignored the knot in his stomach and walked on.

Juvia had her eyes locked on the landscape around, staring at practically anything but Gray. She felt like she was forbidden to stare at him too much; she wanted to get her point straight about being just nakama and if he caught her staring wouldn't help much. Besides, she knew that even a hasty look at his toned muscles (because yes, he had already taken off his shirt), or his handsome features, or his attractive smile would be enough to throw her in the trance of daydreaming, and she could not afford that either.

What was more, she wanted to get rid of that uncomfortable silence and talk to him –that way she would have a reason to stare at him as well, but she didn't know how; she was afraid that anything she might say would sound kind of…_flirtatious._

_Juvia sucks at being Gray-sama's friend!_ she whined mentally.

She had never been more aware about how everything was completely different with Gray, compared to her other guildmates. She did have male friends, even her closest friend –Gajeel, was a guy. But her heart didn't race around them as it did now. Of course, she couldn't just establish the relationship she had built with the Iron dragon slayer over the years with the man she loved. Lost in her thoughts she hadn't realized that Akane beach was laying before their eyes, down the hill.

"Our client is the owner of the resort, so let's go straight there." Gray proposed and Juvia nodded in agreement.

They took the paved path that lead to the resort's lobby. Juvia stared around her in awe; the place was huge, with an amusement park and a luxurious hotel complex that was expanded over the years.

"I know, right?" he said. "This guy must be bathing in a tub full of money, no wonder why the reward was so big."

They were now at the reception. "Excuse me, where can we find the owner of the resort?" Juvia asked the employee.

"The boss? He's right there." She pointed a man at his sixties, talking to a member of the staff, at the other side of the hall.

They thanked the woman and walked towards him. It was a short, bald man with quite a tropical tan, wearing a short sleeved shirt with melon prints all over. He flashed them a big grin as soon as he noticed them, revealing his high spirited character.

"Hello! Could you be the mages for the job?"

"We are indeed." Juvia replied.

"Great! I am Adrian Melon, the owner of this resort." He reached his hand out for a handshake. Gray hardly suppressed a snort as he shook his hand, forcing himself not to stare at the man's round, bald head which, out of some unfathomable coincidence, happened to look exactly like a melon.

"Well, come with me!" He guided them at the porch, where the beach was spread under their eyes.

"Clients have been complaining about losing their purse and other belongings during their stay at the beach." A tone of concern was now obvious in his voice, as his gaze roamed over the beach, "And I've noticed a rate drop in the reservations the last few weeks. I would like to deal with that matter before the resort's reputation is harmed. "

They nodded and he went on, "In other words, I want you to capture the responsible ones and, if possible, bring the stolen property back."

"Rest assured, Melon-san!" Juvia exclaimed and Gray had to fight back another load of laughter.

The man's face lit up and he flashed them a grin. "That's what I wanted to hear! Take your time, I've arranged one of our newest suites, with a private hot spring tub and all, for as long as you might need to stay! "

Gray opened his mouth to tell him that they would probably need no more than half a day to catch a petty gang of bandits but the man waved him off, "And you have free access to any part of the resort. Consider it as part of the reward." He patted their shoulders, "You should have fun once in a while! Just make sure to catch the thief as well."

They blinked in surprise; this place was, even 7 years ago, some sort of dreamy destination they couldn't easily afford. But now they could go anywhere they wanted for free. They would definitely make use of this privilege.

They thanked the man and headed to the suite. It was vast and indeed had a small garden with a spa tub.

Gray looked at the clock, scratching the back of his head. "We'd better go to the beach, so that we can catch them in the act. You want me to go outside for you to change?"

"Y-you don't have to, Juvia will use the bathroom…"

"Alright."

Juvia took her pack and walked to the bathroom. She closed the door and let her back rest against it. This mission threatened to throw her resolve out of the window. It could be the perfect romantic trip; the two of them alone, in this beautiful place… The perfect chance for them to get closer. She thought that maybe she should give up on it and go back to her basics; she already had trouble acting all friendly and now the circumstances screamed for her to drop her efforts before she even started, to cling from his arm at every chance and ask him to do things for two. But then again, she didn't want Gray-sama to regret coming on this job with her because of her antics or lose trust in her words.

Mustering all her determination, she placed her bag on the counter. She reached for the zipper and tugged on it, but it didn't seem to roll down. She tried again, but it was stuck. _What a persistent zipper..._ she thought. She gave it a powerful tug and it finally opened. _Finally… _She took out her purple swimsuit from the small pile of clothes that was inside and shrieked in terror when she saw the bottom part completely ripped, part of the material tangled in the metal zipper.

She felt like crying as she examined the torn material. "Juvia's cute swimsuit…" Her favorite purple dotted swimsuit, the one she looked particularly cute into, was ruined beyond repair!

Juvia opened the door and popped her head out. Gray was standing against the wooden door that led to the garden, already changed in his swimsuit and a T-shirt. "Umm…Gray-sama?"

He turned around. "Hm?"

"Juvia has a problem…"

"Problem?" He blinked as realization hit him. "Oh… Is it those days of the month?"

Juvia turned redder than habanero peppers. "N-No! It's just…" She hanged the ripped cloth out, "Juvia's swimsuit is torn…" She was prepared that he would scold her for falling behind with the job, but he just laughed it off.

"I guess we can go and get you another one… I'm sure this place has some sales on swimwear."

"But…is it okay to postpone the job?"

"Yeah, don't worry 'bout it. Besides, you'll stand out too much with those clothes at the beach. And we want to catch them off guard, right?"

Juvia let out a sigh of relief. "Alright then."

* * *

_**AN:** So yeah, swimsuit shopping... Talk about acting friendly. Hope you like it so far and...thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN:** This chappie is a little short. Sorry about that because I promised 2k+ long chapters *hides her face in shame*. Originally it was supposed to be longer but I decided to split it up to make the transition smoother. This one has some mild ecchi content, but I think fiction T covers for that just fine :)_

* * *

**Chapter 3**

They strolled down a crowded road with small shops. Her eyes drifted frantically from one storefront to the other. Following at slow pace, Gray smiled to himself; from what he could tell, girls loved shopping, he should expect that Juvia was no exception to that rule. When her gaze fell on a small shop that sold hats, she elicited a squeal of happiness and stopped to take a better look.

He placed his hands on her shoulders from behind, causing her to yelp in surprise. "Now let's get going. We have a job to complete, remember?"

She sighed. "Right."

"Good." He drifted her away from the shop. "We can come again later."

She clapped her hands, her face lit up. "Really?"

"Sure. You really like hats, don't you?"

"Very much!" Gray chuckled. They were now in front of a shop with all sorts of swimwear. Juvia peered at the inside.

"Mind if I wait outside?" She shook her head. "Alright, go on."

Gray stayed there, watching the people that walked down the street. Five minutes later, he realized that it would take longer than he had thought, so he stepped inside and found Juvia standing in front of a row of bikini swimsuits.

"How's it going?"

"Juvia is split." She looked at him, then turned back at her two options.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Can I help?"

Her cheeks flushed pink and she hesitated for a few moments, before hanging them in front of him. "Juvia likes this one…" she waved a lace trimmed navy blue pair, "…but this one has a nice color too! And the fabric is kind of…shiny…" she pointed at a golden swimsuit on her other hand. She took a deep breath, her indecisiveness and embarrassment growing at every second that went by, "I don't know! Gray-sama, please pick one for Juvia!"

"O-okay." He examined the two pieces of clothing. "Well…"

The blue one certainly was cute. The golden one was…well, the bottom part had quite a daring cut. And somehow he couldn't help but wonder how exposed and perky would make her butt look. Now, if he had to be honest with himself, he would prefer that one. Suddenly he regretted offering his help. He couldn't tell her that he thought she would be sexier in it –as if a look at her reflection in the mirror while wearing it wouldn't be enough to give away the criteria upon his choice, plus he felt that if she ended up buying it, the people around, including himself, would be checking out her assets, which was bad in many ways.

He cleared his throat, hoping that his expression didn't reflect his inner struggle. "Umm… the blue one… yeah, that one…"

"The blue it is then!" she gave the other one at the shop's employee that had come over in the meantime, "we don't need this."

"Thank you, Gray-sama!"

"Yeah…no big deal…"

"Will you try it on, miss? The changing rooms are over there." the woman said. Juvia disappeared in one for the next few minutes. Gray walked back and forth, occasionally glancing at the funky colored swimsuits, trying not to think how they would look on Juvia.

"Are you done, dear?" the employee prompted politely, only to get an incoherent murmur from the bluenette in response, "Come out when you are, we need to check the size and I'm sure your boyfriend wants to see you too."

A cracked squeak was heard from the changing room and Gray felt his face heat up. "Whaaa-No! I'm not… We're just-"

The woman blinked a couple of times. "Oh! Oh I'm sorry, I thought…my bad!"

Gray didn't answer, wondering why she thought that they were together. Juvia was being unexpectedly discreet to the point she even made him wonder. So could it be _him_ giving off that vibe? But he couldn't think of anything he did or said that could possibly imply something like that. It had taken him quite a while to realize that Juvia was not exactly the type of friend that Lucy, or Erza, or Cana, or practically every other female in the guild was to him, and that woman could get that impression about them within minutes? A tingling feeling in his stomach he had come to notice that appeared only when Juvia was around, he could force it out of his mind with such ease that most of the times he wasn't even aware of it. He couldn't be that transparent. Irritated by himself for putting so much thought in it, he decided to blame it on the fact that they came here together and that woman was probably one of those incurably romantic people who loved to see couples everywhere.

The curtain waved, before Juvia pulled it to the side and shyly stepped out, hands behind her back. Gray turned around for what he thought it would be a brief glimpse but he found himself oddly captivated by the sight before him. His eyes roamed from the beautiful neck, inevitably lower to her breasts, not massive but ample enough, suppressed by the cloth into forming a long cleavage, to the flat stomach and curvaceous waist that disappeared low under the bikini, and down to her long, shapely legs –maybe he found his favorite part, cursing himself for picking favorites a moment later. From the head to the pink toenails, she was just gorgeous. She then turned around slightly to check how she looked from the back, revealing her perfectly round bottom. Oh damn, and there he was worrying about the golden swimsuit, as if she wasn't deadly enough in this one.

"Is it okay?" she asked to no one in particular.

_Okay is a huuuge understatement… _he thought, but he just muttered an indifferent 'yeah', eyes still locked on her in an intense stare.

"It suits you so well!" the employee exclaimed, "Just allow me to adjust…" and with that, she slid her palm underneath the bra, pushing Juvia's breast upwards and making it look even bouncier. Gray's eyes widened at the unexpected sight and he gulped hard, wishing for a moment he could be the one doing it.

Juvia's cheeks dyed in bright red, "Ju- Juvia can do this on her own!"

"Done!" the woman said, removing her hands, "Now it's perfect!" By that time Gray felt like someone could fry a steak on his face.

He watched outside as he waited for her to pay. _What has gotten into me? _He had seen her in a swimsuit before and he didn't act like he had never seen a woman exposing so much skin before. While it was true that, unlike the other girls in Fairy Tail that usually wore poor excuses for clothes, Juvia left many things to the imagination, he knew not so deep down that he couldn't pass it as a mere reaction to a sight he appreciated and didn't get to see often. He's been having signs for a long while, signs he ignored or refused to accept, but the pieces of the puzzle were gradually falling to place. Possibly…probably…he liked Juvia.

Juvia joined him soon, and he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as they set their way towards the beach, noting to remember that if they came back for shopping later, they should definitely avoid lingerie shops.

* * *

_**AN:** Short I know... Hope you enjoyed it anyways! __Thanks for reading!_


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN:** This chapter is relatively bigger to compensate for the previous one. Now off we go with more (awkward) Gruvia moments!_

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**Chapter 4**

It was noon and the beach was literally suffocating by the countless tourists on it. It must have been pure heaven for those bandits; so many people to rob and they could go totally unnoticed in this crowd. It would be extremely hard to find them, not to mention hunting them down.

After wandering around for a while, they finally found an empty spot to lay their towels. As soon as they settled down, Gray took of his T-shirt and tossed it on the towel. He gave Juvia a random glimpse; she didn't pay any attention to him at all, she seemed too occupied fixing her towel. He sighed. Normally, she would be all clingy, or squealing nonsense or stare at him for no particular reason. Or something! But this…this was the definition of neutral! As time passed, he was more and more aware of this change in her behavior. At first he was relieved, but now he was starting to be kind of…annoyed? Disappointed maybe? He didn't know.

Did she really get over him? All of a sudden? It had seemed to him that she didn't intend to let go of her feelings, no matter what those were. Apparently he was wrong. What changed now? Did it have anything to do with those few days that she was gone?

Maybe…maybe she has found someone else? Suddenly he felt the little green beast of jealousy growling in his chest. He gritted his teeth. _No. It's Juvia we're talking about. There's no way she's over me._

He grabbed the sunscreen lotion, put some in his hand and started spreading it on his chest and stomach. He was being ridiculous, he knew it; he never bothered to put sunscreen on in his life, ever! But he had to drag her attention somehow, he needed the smallest sign that she hadn't let go of him.

It didn't take long for Juvia to notice him. He felt her gaze roam over him and he flashed his smug smile. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't put effort into impressing a girl in ages. Soon however his smirk dropped when she quickly looked the other way.

And it took every ounce of her will to do so. The lotion made his body –that Juvia thought was sin itself, glow under the sun, making the curves of his abdominals more defined. But she decided it was better to drool over the mental image in a corner rather than the real deal.

"C-could you put some on Juvia's back?" she asked bashfully, still avoiding looking at him.

"Sure" he sat behind her and put some in his hand, but as soon as he touched her shoulders she shivered and withdrew from his hands.

"Gray-sama, your hands are cold!"

"Uh, sorry…" he rubbed his palms together to warm them up, then trailed circles on her pale skin.

"Alright." He said when he was done and turned around. "My turn now." She did the same and he hummed, feeling the pair of soft hands soothing his back.

They decided that they would have a better view of the beach at the sea, so they walked through the cool water until more than half of their bodies were fully covered.

Juvia narrowed her eyes, scanning thoroughly the beach for some suspicious movement.

"How in hell are we supposed to look for the bandit in this crazy mess?" Gray muttered; from this new point of view the place seemed even more populated. Juvia picked the left side of the beach and he scouted the right, but they realized it was just as futile.

"Uaah it's no use!" she whined a few minutes later. They had fought dark mages, monsters, dragons, demons, but now all those seemed a piece of cake compared to this task.

"Hey, there's no need to worry." he swam towards her, "We'll figure something out."

She smiled. "You're right. Besides, Melon-san said there's no rush." she said as she let her back float on the surface.

Gray bent above her and raised a brow, recalling the way she withdrew from his hands earlier. "Hmm…"

"What?" she asked softly.

"Nothing, it's just…" he bent a little closer, "I bet you're ticklish."

A pinkish shade stained her cheeks at the intensity of his eyes and she turned her head to the side. "Juvia isn't!"

His lips curled in a sly smirk. "I wonder about that..." His fingertips stroked her stomach, causing her to yelp and jump away.

He chuckled at her reaction. "Found a soft spot, didn't I?"

"I- It happened!"

"Liar."

Feeling as though those dark blue eyes could see right through her, she dropped any effort of convincing him about the opposite. The small pout on her lips turned into a playful smile and she splashed some water towards his direction in response.

A few droplets reached him and ran down his chest. He smirked and swung his hand on the surface, shooting a bigger jet of water towards her, which splashed over her skin but was absorbed by it in no time as she gave him a challenging look.

"Are you picking a fight with Juvia? In the water?"

A mischievous expression carved on his face, it was a look that wasn't meant for him ever since they had fought against each other when she was still in Phantom Lord. "Uh-huh…"

A wave emerged from the space between them and fell all over him, soaking him wet.

His head was dropped to his chest, the raven strands were stuck on his forehead and covered his eyes. Juvia flinched back, fearing that she might have taken it too far.

Gray shook his head to remove the hair from his eyes, "Now you've done it!"

He jumped on her and tickled every spot he could reach while she fought him back. Juvia liquified herself and he saw her slip from his hands like a stream and disappear in the water. He looked around, wondering where she would reappear when he felt something pull at his left leg and he barely managed to take a breath before he fell into the sea. Holding his breath, he pried his eyes open and saw something that looked like a small current –which he knew was Juvia, spin around him, randomly brushing across his skin. He almost forgot to hold on his breath as she tickled him, and it appeared she momentarily lost focus, because she turned into her normal form and he managed to pull her along as he rose from the surface.

His fingers stroked her waist and she laughed in a way he had never heard before; it was loud and spontaneous and so unusual of her that he couldn't help but smile. His hands stopped teasing her and rested on her waist as she couldn't fight him back anymore. Her eyes wandered on his features, panting to satiate her lungs with air.

"Do you admit defeat?" he asked softly when her breathing went back to normal.

"Juvia would say it's a draw."

He chuckled. "Good enough."

Juvia brought her fingers on the raven strands that fell on his eyes, brushing them to the side before her hand fell on his shoulder. She was frozen in her place, her mind was blurred by the proximity, the gleam in his eyes, the way he held her, everything.

He looked in the big blue orbs that stared back at him; they were so close, pressed on each other and somehow he could only think that kissing her was easy as breathing.

She unconsciously bit her lower lip as her eyes drifted from his eyes to his lips, then all the way up again. Gray could feel his heart clutching in his chest and he realized that suddenly his swimsuit felt too tight. He put her down before she could notice it and looked away.

"Should we search on the outside as well?" she proposed.

"Uh sure. Go ahead." She walked to the shore and he followed soon after.

They kept an eye on the wandering little merchants, which were the most likely to be who they were looking for, but surprisingly they did nothing suspicious.

Disappointed, Juvia dropped her scouting efforts and started drawing patterns on the sand instead. Gray looked at the smiley figure with messy hair and droopy eyes that was carved on the sand.

"Is that…me?" Juvia nodded.

"It does look a lot like me. You're good at this, y'know?"

She smiled nervously. He wasn't aware of the Gray-sama merchandise in her house that she has had lots of practice on.

"Then…" he drew a very simplistic feminine figure that, weren't it for the hat on the top of its head, she wouldn't be able to tell that it was her. "Is that supposed to be Juvia?"

"Yes." He gave his sketch a better look and sighed. "It sucks, doesn't it?"

Juvia giggled. "To be honest, Juvia expected you to be better at this. The things you make from ice are much more defined."

"Well yeah, I can give ice exactly the shape I have in my mind, but I guess that's different..." He muttered, scratching the back of his head. It was close to sunset and people were leaving. They were just wasting their time and he was starving. "Wanna leave? This is getting us nowhere, maybe we should try again tomorrow with a different plan."

Juvia agreed, so they picked up their stuff and headed back to the inn. On the way they decided that Juvia would go inform the client that they would need one more day and ask a few things they needed to know while Gray would go straight to the room to take a quick bath, so that she could take her time later, then go buy some food for both.

Gray walked in the room and threw his stuff on a small table. He rubbed his palm on his face as he suddenly felt the accumulated fatigue of a whole day taking its toll on him. His eyes wandered on the empty room before they fell on the outdoor spa tub; he felt too exhausted to even complete the simple task of showering, and sinking there would do the trick just as fine. Without putting further thought into it, he undressed and stepped in, groaning in content as the warm water gave him instant relief.

Resting his head on the stone edge of the tub, his mind drifted to a certain bluenette. The change in her demeanor, which he hadn't concluded whether it was for the best or not. And then there was the change in _his_ behavior… For the first time he caught himself finding excuses to be close to her, touch her, make her smile… As though their roles had somehow been reversed. He didn't know when, or how exactly that happened. He was usually trying to keep her at a distance or put some sense into her when she pulled her usual antics and sometimes he just went along… How did he end up acting like a flirty teenager now? And he knew it wasn't just to satisfy his ego, he would be severely fooling himself if he were to believe that. He smiled to himself at the irony of the situation.

His lids fell heavy over his eyes as his consciousness was carried away by this stream of thoughts and before he realized, we was dragged in the depths of sleep.

* * *

Juvia opened the door and walked in. With a quick glance she could tell that Gray was nowhere around, and she couldn't hear water running in the bathroom either.

"Gray-sama?" she inquired, but got no answer. She hesitantly opened the bathroom door and peeked on the inside. _He must have already left_… she thought to herself. She took off her clothes, picked a fresh towel and she was about to go to the bathroom when she took glimpse of the wooden door at her left. Now, why use the shower when you can just soak in the warm water of the tub? Thinking about it for a moment, Juvia decided to indulge herself in a nice bath.

Murmuring a song, she pulled at the door leaf and stepped out. She had only made a couple of steps when she noticed Gray's sleeping –and gloriously naked, figure at the other side of the tub. She froze at that spot, placing a hand over her mouth to drown the squeak that tore from her throat. The gears of her brain worked frantically to sort out what she should do. She recalled Erza mentioning that she had bathed with him and Natsu several times, and that seemed to be the case for Lucy as well, not to mention Wendy. Apparently for Fairy Tail bathing together was some sort of ritual for sealing friendships, and that was exactly what she needed with Gray. Everyone seemed to be doing this, so why should she be an exception anyways? The more she thought about it, the more sense it made.

With her face heated up and shaking in embarrassment, she walked to the tub, tripping on a bucket along the way. Gray's lids lifted at the sudden sound but snapped wide when he grasped the sight before him.

"D- Don't look this way, Gray-sama!" she stuttered, clutching on the towel she held against her that barely covered her body, as she stepped at the other side of the tub.

He had no time to protest so he complied, turning his head the other way. He felt the water waving along with a sound of movement and realized that she was really going to stay there with him.

"God why…" he muttered to himself, rubbing his temple.

"Did you say something?"

He glanced at her with the corner of his eye to make sure she was covered enough before he turned around. "Just one question: what are you doing here Juvia?" he yelled.

"Taking a bath…" she said bashfully. "Is…there a problem with that?"

"You tell me! Isn't there?" he scoffed, striving to keep his eyes focused on her face, or the bushes behind her head.

She tried to muster her confidence. "N- Not really… Gray-sama has bathed with Erza-san and Lucy…"

He laughed sarcastically. _So it comes down to this huh? _Fairy Tail had questionable sense of morality on some matters, which –he had to admit, he adopted quite a few times, but he had never been more aware of its inappropriateness until now. Clearly, the universe was punishing him for a lifetime of exhibitionism.

Juvia went on. "If it's okay to bathe with them, then same goes for Juvia, right? We're friends as well!"

Gray sighed. Hell, it was _so_ not the same! Even if he refused to admit it, his body indicated him in the most uncomfortable way. Trying to drift his mind away from his hardening problem, he changed topic. "Anyway…" he said, a little angrier than he wanted, "Did you find the client?"

"Yes! He said we can take as much time as we need. Juvia also asked about the thefts and it seems that the bandit did strike today as well…"

"Under our noses huh?" he muttered.

"Juvia doesn't understand." she exclaimed, "We were there the whole time, how didn't we notice anything?"

While she was lost in contemplation, his gaze unconsciously fell lower on her poorly concealed breasts. A strained expression carved on his face as he kept staring. He was surprised and irritated with himself; he had had quite a generous dose of Juvia's nudity that day, normally all novelty should be wearing off by now. But that just didn't seem to happen.

It was then when he was hit with the most awkward question he could ever blurt out.

"Hey, I was wondering…your body…" he trailed off as he realized he had really said it out loud.

Her face turned red and she held on her towel protectively. The fact that Gray was thinking about her body in any way was too much for her. "Ju-Juvia's body?..."

He gulped and averted his eyes from her completely. _Goddammit, it can't get any more embarrassing… _"It's made of water, right? Doesn't it feel weird when you're in the water? Like you're blended with it or something?"

The blush on her face subsided a little. "Well…Juvia can deliberately let her body turn into water. So Juvia can feel water as an entirely different entity, just like everyone else…unless I choose otherwise. In which case Juvia can become part of the water around her."

"I see…" Suddenly his eyes widened as realization hit him, causing Juvia to jerk in surprise. "Holly shit! That's it!" he ran his hand through his hair.

"What-"she started but Gray answered before she could finish.

"The bandit is a mage too! A sand mage to be more specific…"

She blinked. "Like Max-san?"

"More like you I'd say… I bet he transforms into sand to get close to the victims' stuff."

"That makes sense!" Juvia was impressed by his perception. Even if he turned out to be wrong, it was a very good guess. _Gray-sama is so smart!_

"Doesn't it?" he bumped his fist on his other palm as he went on, "They must have some sort of base where they hide the stolen properties. We should try to find that tomorrow…"

Carried away by his epiphany, he didn't notice that she had come over to his side of the tub. Letting out an incoherent sound when he realized, he instinctively grabbed a towel from his left and covered himself as he crept away from her. She sat at a reasonable distance with unwavering determination as she kept telling herself that what she was doing was 100% among the range of 'friendly'.

They both stared at the void for several long moments.

"Juvia can wash your back if you want."

"No thanks."

Gray could feel that his skin had wrinkled from the water. "Uh…I'm getting out. Don't look!"

She turned around and he got up, wrapping the towel around his hips when he heard a small giggle.

"What?" he asked annoyed as he checked her to make sure she was still looking away.

"Nothing, it's just unusual for Gray-sama to be shy about his body."

That was because of something that had proved impossible to get rid of and definitely wouldn't go unnoticed. "You told me not to look as well. It's only fair, don't you think?"

"So if you had seen Juvia earlier, we would be even?" she prodded.

No, in that case he would have probably melted into a puddle. He rolled his eyes, wondering which was the wicked source of her sudden confidence as he walked back to their room.

Juvia smiled to herself. Just nakama or not, they were getting closer, weren't they? And although she wanted all of him, this seemed to be more than fulfilling.

* * *

_**AN:** Hope you like it so far. As always, thanks for reading!_


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN:**__ Yo! Sorry it took me a while to update. I'm on vacation, so I was writing little bits whenever I could sneak some time for that. And I'm awfully slow when typing on a tablet, not to mention editing! __There is some OOCness in this one, but it's part of the 'acting friendly' concept and due to alcohol. I wanted to show a different kind of Gruvia interaction, that they can have a serious conversation as well._

_All the feedback I've received so far has made me happy and it's been the best motivation, so thank you so much for reviewing/faving/following :3_

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**Chapter 5**

After a tough day with a pinch of awkwardness, a good plan for the following day to boot and their stomachs growling in hunger, they both had to agree they deserved a filling dinner. Juvia was in the bathroom, while Gray was already dressed, waiting for her to get ready as he leisurely walked back and forth in the room.

He took glimpse of his reflection in the closet's mirror and stopped to take a better look. He was okay, but he thought he could do better. They would go for a night out and he couldn't have Juvia looking at random guys rather than him. He peered at the bathroom door; it seemed that Juvia would take some more time, so he stepped closer and started playing with his raven hair, trying to make it look messier but in a natural way. He fixed the locks that fell on his forehead, making sure that the scar above his left eye was visible. He liked his scars; they were proof of the battles he's had and he thought they added some extra masculine charm on him.

He looked at his reflection from different angles and smirked in content. Now he was Gray-sexy-sama.

Just when he was done, the door opened and Juvia walked out. Instead of her usual outfit, she was wearing a light yellow dress just above the length of her knees, not too revealing, but hugging her curves. A butterfly clip decorated the wavy blue hair that fell on her shoulders in soft curls. He just stared at her as though he was trying to grasp every bit of her features. All the girls at the guild were undeniably attractive, but Juvia had a refined beauty he had never seen in any other woman. She had a unique way to look elegant, sweet and tempting at the same time.

She blushed at c the intensity of his gaze and looked away. "Juvia got a little sunburn on her face and…now it kind of looks like a peach, doesn't it?" she joked nervously.

Gray laughed softly at her statement. "No, you look pretty."

Her eyes lit with excitement, but he didn't pay attention to how thrilled she was by his compliment as a small wave of embarrassment he was not prepared for rushed through him, staining his cheeks in light pink. "Let's go, I'm starving to death." he added quickly as he walked past her and towards the door.

They went at a nice restaurant on the edge of the hill, with a beautiful view of the sea under the starry sky. They didn't talk much as they were occupied sating the starvation of a whole day. When they were finished, they agreed it was still early to call it a day and decided to go for a drink.

Juvia thought it felt like a date as they strolled down the crowded road and her stomach fluttered everytime their arms brushed on each other. They found a cozy bar and walked in.

Gray gazed at her suspiciously as she looked around, which she apparently preferred than looking at him. A thought was still bugging him: Was there someone else? He imagined Juvia going on a date with someone whose face he couldn't really picture, nor did he want to. Someone who would be more than eager to flirt her back. Why wouldn't he? She was very attractive after all. He remembered Lyon's reaction when he first saw her. Maybe they've already kissed, or maybe they've done a _lot_ more than that. He clenched his fists under the table. He didn't know the guy, but he was already dying to punch him in the face.

Was she as enthusiastic as she used to be for him?

Did she pull those crazy antics of hers to him too?

All those questions kept spinning in his head and he swore he would explode if he didn't find out.

He could always ask. They were friends, as she kept reminding him, and friends can talk about those stuff. She would either refuse to answer or or share a friendly conversation with him about the matter.

He cleared his throat. "So Juvia…" he started, her eyes trailing back at him. "Are you umm…seeing someone?" he took a sip of his drink, trying not to sound too curious.

She gave him a questioning look as she hesitated to answer, clearly not getting what he meant.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" he reformed his question.

Juvia was taken aback. "No, Juvia doesn't…" She wondered if the alcohol had affected him somehow. _That was a weird thing to ask. Why would Juvia ever want to have a boyfriend other than Gray-sama?_ But then again, she remembered, he wasn't supposed to know that. No matter the case, that had ignited her own curiosity. What about him? It could be that woman Cana was talking about…or even someone else. She felt a stab in her heart as she imagined the list of women he preferred over her growing.

"Does Gray-sama have a girlfriend?" she dared ask, although she feared she might not be able to handle the answer.

"Me? No…"

"Really?" she exclaimed, both in surprise and relief, but meanwhile she realized that didn't sound the way it should. Fixing her composure, she asked in a looser manner "Is that so?"

"Yup." He noticed a small trace of disbelief in her expression. "Surpised?"

"Well maybe… Your popularity has increased tenfold ever since the Grand Magic Games…" she reasoned.

Gray snorted. "Yeah right! I can barely take a break from all this mess that's going on, I don't even have time for that. You'd be surprised by how few affairs I've had." He was surprised with himself that he said something rather personal to her with such ease -as he usually picked his words when talking to Juvia, but he was more surprised to see her supporting her head on her wrists, urging him to talk more about the matter.

"What?" he said with a sigh.

"Talk more to Juvia."

He took a big sip. He was the one who was supposed to be getting answers but now the conversation had turned to him like a boomerang. Did she really expect him to talk about his exes?

He smirked. "I'll tell you if you tell me first." Learning a few things about Juvia wouldn't be bad at all.

"Wha-" But it was probably the first time he asked something about_ her_, not something abstract like the weather, but something personal. "It's a really small number..." she admitted shyly.

"Believe me, I can relate."

"Well..." she started, fidgeting nervously, "Juvia has dated two men."

He raised a brow and prompted her to go on.

She hesitated. "The first one, we were dating for a month or so, but he didn't like Juvia's rain. Juvia can't blame him though. Having the rain following you in every single date isn't the best thing..."

Gray wondered how it would feel if it rained constantly wherever he was, but he thought it wouldn't be nice to ask.

"The other one, we just went on a few dates... He was nice at first. But then...he kept asking Juvia to get him in Phantom Lord... Juvia told him she couldn't do much, that she could talk to Master Jose but he was very strict in recruiting new members and...he didn't contact Juvia again..." she said bitterly.

Gray rolles his eyes. "What a dick..." He had happened to meet girls that showed interest in him only after they found out he was in Fairy Tail, but to actually date someone only to get them in a guild...he couldn't even tell how bad that must have felt. It made him angry. If he knew where that piece of shit was, he would go and beat the hell out of him.

"Anyway..." she cracked a smile, "It's your turn Gray-sama!"

"Two."

"Two?" she repeated.

"See? We're even."

She nodded. Gray could tell she wanted him to say more and he felt surprisingly comfortable to do so. Maybe the alcohol had made him light-headed. "I met my first girlfriend while on a job in Magnolia when I was around fifteen. It was, y'know, clumsy and silly now that I think about it. As those things are around that age I suppose. It didn't last long."

"Was she Gray-sama's first crush?"

"No." He laughed as he remembered who that person was. The conversation had gone too far anyways, so he thought he might as well spit that out. "That would be a very scary person that now is one of my closest friends."

"Erza-san?"

Gray nodded. "I got over it very soon though, when I saw what kind of beast she is..."

Juvia debated whether she should put Erza in the love-rival list or not but decided the latter.

"Then there was another girl when I was seventeen. We were dating for a little while, but then my missions got longer and tougher and eventually we stopped seeing each other." He had to admit Juvia was a great listener.

"And...that's it?" something didn't make sense to her.

"Well yeah. Sure, I've met other women, but just with those two it was serious enough to..." he trailed off as he noticed her smile drop and realised that he might have said too much. _Shit, that sounded wrong._

"Juvia knows..." she muttered.

"Know what?"

"Juvia heard you talking with Cana-san the other day... N- Not on purpose! I just happened to be around..."

She couldn't mean... Gray felt like someone had kicked him right in the gut. That meant she heard everything, including Cana calling him a man-whore. Of all people, Juvia was the last one he wanted to hear all that. God knows what she thought of him now. "Fuck..." he whispered under his breath.

"Don't worry, Juvia won't judge you or anything...for what you did, that is..." she assured, although she felt her chest hurt more at every word she uttered.

"I don't remember saying that I did though..."

Her head snapped back at him. She recalled the scene from a few days ago.

"You didn't..." she noticed. Gray formed a weak smile.

"So this means...you didn't...?"

He shook his head. Her mouth hung half open as she sucked in a big breath. Exhaling, she felt her chest heaving down, light as a feather, while she processed the new information. Gray-sama was with a girl but...

"Juvia thought-" Yeah, that's what he had thought too.

"Why?" she asked.

Why really? He wondered himself.

It was one of those many nights when his mind would drift to the past without his consent, or maybe he thought he deserved to feel the guilt for the things he let happen, the regret for the things he couldn't do, the sorrow for the things he lost. Even though he he knew, even though he felt that with every fragment of time that scattered away and every hardship he went through he was getting closer to the door that would shut all of it away, those thoughts would crawl back to him, like the shadows staying close to the light. From the lifeless bodies of his parents lying in the ruins of his hometown, to Ur sealing her very soul in ice, Ultear trading her lifespan with his life, Juvia's tears...it all came back. Was he even worthy of all that? Why did everyone go that far for him? Those questions came back to the surface. And as many times as it occurred to him, he had never found an easy way out. He usually stayed by himself, at home or some lonely corner until he felt in the mood to socialize again.

But that time he decided to do something else for a change. So he went to a bar he usually went with Loke. Maybe some shots would help him forget about all that just for a while. He'd still be alone after all, it's just that there would be random strangers around. At least that's what he had thought, until a girl with a luscious figure and a promising gleam in her eyes approached him. He had to admit she was hot and she had seemed more than willing to help him get his mind off things. So when they left for her place he thought that maybe he had found an easy way out and when she had him pressed against her door he was getting more and more sure that he would have fun.

_He was trailing a path of wet kisses down her throat._

_"The keys are in my pocket." she whispered seductively in his ear._

_ He slid a hand between their bodies and pulled a pair of keys from the pocket of her skinny jeans. She pushed him firmer against the door, running her hands on his chest as he slanted his mouth on hers. When he pulled away, panting for air and his half lidded gaze met the girl through the dim light of the street, he suddenly felt like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water on him. The blur in his mind dissolved, as though he had unexpectedly, forcefully snapped from a magic spell. The eyes staring back at his weren't the loving blue orbs he suddenly missed, the smirk on her swollen lips was not the warm smile that could tie his stomach in a knot before he even knew. And while he was physically attracted to her, he found himself oddly repelled as well and he realised this was not the way it was supposed to be, nor the girl it was supposed to be._

_Sighing, he rested the back of his head at the door. _

_"What's wrong?" she asked, kissing his jaw._

_"I can't..." he muttered through gritted teeth._

_"Come on now, I know you want it." she said playfully. She kissed the corner of his mouth, then on his lips but he pushed her away. _

_The girl pouted, both in frustration and irritation. Gray run his hand in his hair and slightly pulled on them. "I'm sorry Sol, I..." he sighed, "I'd better go..." He held her hand and placed the keys in her palm. Averting his eyes, he muttered a _bye _and walked away. The girl didn't say anything back, which he thought was better, because he knew that a row of insults would serve him just right._

He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess...maybe I'm interested in someone else."

She blinked twice. "Oh!"

Could it be her? She felt like her heart would pop out of her ribcage just thinking about it. That would make her the happiest woman on earthland. But she was afraid to let herself believe it. Because what if she wasn't? She was so hurt the last time she was proven wrong and she didn't know if she could handle it again, just when she was figuring out how to be a friend for him. Just when she felt him closer than ever.

She took her drink and gulped it all down, feeling the alcohol burn her throat.

"Y'know" Gray started, feeling that he still had to restore the impression she had for him, "people at the guild tend to think that just because I hang out with Loke, I'm like him. Like, dating all the time and sleeping around... But that's not really it. At all." Actually, he could count the women he's slept with in the digits of his one hand and still have free fingers to go, but he thought that was unnecessary information.

"Juvia doesn't think of you like that." she assured with a smile. Of course he wasn't like anyone else. He was the one who sealed away the rain, the man she loved, and that for her made him different.

* * *

She got out of the bathroom, wearing her favorite pyjamas and found Gray in sweatpants, sitting on his futon. She sat on hers, next to him. "Juvia is feeling a little dizzy!"

"Yeah, the drinks were kinda strong." He saw her placing a hand on her mouth, drowning a yawn. "Wanna sleep?

Juvia nodded drowsily. "Juvia had a great time today."

"Me too." he looked at her for several moments, as though he was expecting something. "Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight Gray-sama." She lied on her futon with her back turned to him, otherwise she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep and stare at him instead. Gray fell on his stomach and took some time to watch her sleep. She looked so small and delicate, he thought she would fit in his arms perfectly. He wanted to hug her so bad, just for a minute. He almost reached his hand to do so but it fell softly on the wooden floor between them. At that point, he realized he was so sleepy that his conscious was taking over his actions. He flipped around and a few minutes later, Juvia could hear him snore softly.

She turned around; thinking that she would just fall asleep so easily with Gray-sama lying inches away from her was foolish. She crawled a little closer, supporting her head on her wrist. A soft smile crept on her lips as she examined his peaceful expression. Then hesitantly, she reached her hand in his hair and started playing with the dark locks. She was refraining herself from doing anything that might annoy him for a whole day, she thought she could indulge herself as much when he wouldn't know.

"I love you so, so much." she whispered, brushing the bangs that fell on his forehead. "If only Juvia knew what's going on in your mind, so that she could know what to do... Because you're confusing Juvia, Gray-sama." She wished he could hear her and give her an answer, hopefully that he loved her too. "If Juvia can only be your friend, then Juvia will try." her hand trailed down and rested on his cheek, "Doesn't promise anything though. It's hard, you know?" She wiped a tear that ran on her cheekbone. "Juvia knows she won't forget her feelings... That's why, please love Juvia instead. It's a selfish thing to ask, isn't it?" She laughed to herself. "Juvia rambled too much, she'd better go to sleep." She shifted to turn around when she heard him mumble in his sleep.

"Juv-"

A pair of arms wrapped around her and held her on him tight. Then his grip loosened, leaving Juvia trapped in his neck. She tried not to move at all or breathe too deep and wake him up._ Gray-sama said Juvia's name in his sleep? He said Juvia's name in his sleep... _Her heart was beating so loud she feared he might wake up from the sound. She could smell the musk scent on his skin. He was cold, yet he left a tingling warmth on her skin. It felt so nice, almost like a sanctuary. Resting in his neck, she closed her eyes, noting to herself to go back to her futon later on. But, just for a little while, she needed her sanctuary.

* * *

_**AN: **__See what I did there? _Sol_ means _sun_ in spanish while _lluvia_ (which Juvia was named after) means_ rain. _Petty detail, I know, but I liked the contradiction._

_Have you ever seen how cats sometimes cross their paws above their eyes while they sleep? That's how I imagine Gray's hug. ^^_

_Thanks for reading._


	6. Chapter 6

_**AN:** I originally didn't intend to include the fight with the bandit guy, but then I thought I referred to their mission too much to just skip it, so here it is. You can consider it as a bonus chapter. Sorry in advance, I suck at action scenes, haha_

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Gray woke up from the daylight that invaded the room. His eyes wandered in the bright room, adjusting to the light, and saw Juvia sleeping on the floor next to him. Her blue hair was sprayed on the floor, her long lashes fell over, hooding her eyes, her mouth hung half open as she took small breaths. A smile tweaked his lips.

_She's cute._

He picked her carefully and placed her softly on her futon. She instinctively gripped on the pillow and hummed happily. Gray chuckled quietly at her reaction.

He realized he had been watching her over a minute so he got up and walked to the bathroom. A few minutes later, he was dressed and left the room.

Juvia woke up soon after. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and looked around for Gray. "Gray-sama?"

Just when she was making scenarios about him being kidnapped, she heard the door open.

"Awake already?"

She nodded, stretching her limbs. "Good morning Gray-sama!"

"Morning." He placed a bag on the small table and plopped down with her, "I got us breakfast. Just some donuts, pick whichever you like." Juvia peered inside the bag and picked a cinnamon flavored donut.

"And coffee, here." he placed the drink in front of her.

She hesitated. "Juvia…doesn't drink coffee..."

Gray's shoulders dropped. "Oh. I didn't know. Sorry, I should have brought juice or-"

'No it's alright!" Juvia rushed to assure him, feeling bad she had him apologize for such a thing. "Juvia just prefers tea, that's all! Juvia doesn't dislike coffee, see?" she took a few generous sips of her coffee to show him, ignoring the bitterness. Gray smiled nervously. There were so many things about her he didn't know.

"Umm, Gray-sama, did you maybe um…see any dreams last night?"

He frowned, making a pensive face. "I don't remember anything."

"Oh…" she muttered with a tone of disappointment.

"Why?" he asked as he stuffed a donut in his mouth.

"Nothing… Just asked." She didn't expect him to downright tell her if he did, but she hoped she could get a clue by his expression. Maybe _Gray-sama was just speaking nonsense in his sleep…_

"We should go search for the bandit soon." Gray mumbled while he chewed on the last bite.

Juvia wiped her mouth with a napkin and got up. "Right. Juvia will go get ready."

* * *

They were walking across the beach, pretending to be normal tourists, looking for something that could be used as a base. Soon, they found an abandoned storehouse hidden in the trees, at a remote side of the beach.

Juvia looked around to make sure they hadn't been followed, then whispered "Could this be it?"

"We'll find out soon." He broke the door lock with his ice and they walked in. No one seemed to be there. They took some time to inspect the place. There were a few beach umbrellas, some plastic chairs, empty boxes but nothing else apart from that. Gray sighed in disappointment.

"Gray-sama, here!" she brushed the sand from the wooden floor, revealing a small trap door. They opened it and found a bag. Gray pulled it out and examined its content.

"Purses…some watches…jewelry… They're few though, probably the ones they snatched today and maybe yesterday." he muttered.

"Seems like I got busted." a voice sounded behind them, causing them to turn around. A wave of sand lifted from the floor and formed the figure of a short man in his late twenties. "Not that it matters, you'll be dead soon. If I, the great Suna, say so."

"You seem too full of yourself, thinking that you can mess with Fairy Tail." Gray said, a threatening gleam glinting in his dark eyes.

The man laughed mockingly. "I have nothing to fear from a couple of brats."

"_Ice make Lance!" _

The ice pierced through the sand mage, leaving holes behind which started to be refilled with sand almost instantly.

"Just as you guessed, it's like Juvia's magic. His body is made of sand, physical attacks don't affect him." Juvia told him. He nodded; that's what he wanted to verify with the attack.

"I don't think you have time for chatting!" The man joked before he shot sand bullets towards them but Gray shielded them with his ice.

"_Water Nebula!"_ two jets of water crashed on the bandit, causing him to turn into mud and crumble on the floor. He reappeared however behind them before they realized, and launched a powerful kick on Juvia, shoving her on the pile of chairs.

"Juvia!" Gray shouted as she struggled to get on her feet. _Shit, he can absorb the water._

"You're up next, ice boy_! Sand Drizzle!_" Waves of sand hit him ruthlessly, scrapping roughly his skin. Pain pierced through him at every hit and he knew he was bleeding at several spots.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia shrieked in terron.

Suna laughed sadistically. _"Giant Sand Fist!"_

Tons of sand particles gathered in a giant fist that landed forcefully on Gray's stomach. He crashed on the wall, then fell on the floor with a cracked cry of pain. He tried to stand up only to slump back down.

"You're a tough one aren't you? But this one will finish you off!"

Almost all the sand emerged from the floor and shaped into a long, thick pillar with a sharp edge. Gray could see the grains of sand being suppressed together, increasing the pillar's density.

"Bye bye, pretty face. _Sand Pillar!_" With a swing of his arm, the pillar shot towards Gray's direction. He tried to run away, but his muscles trembled and gave away. He tried to mold magic but he wouldn't make it in time. He watched with wide eyes as it flew towards him.

"Gray-sama, no!" she ran, stumbling on the way due to her hasty efforts, and stood in front of him.

Gray yelled at her. "Get the hell out of the way! You'll-"

A thick layer of water appeared in front of them at the last moment, slowing down the pillar to a halt, inches away from her. Absorbing the water, it grew heavy and fell on the floor, scattering sand all over.

Panting, she dropped her shoulders and sighed in relief. Then flinched as the ache at her back returned and she almost lost her balance.

"Why, you persistent bitch..." Suna hissed.

Sand crawled on her left leg and gripped on her ankle painfully tight. With a powerful tug she fell on the floor and elicited a loud cry, feeling as though her bones were being crushed.

"Juvia!" Gray screamed as she was dragged to the other side of the storehouse. The sand finally released her leg, and she tried to get up, supporting her weight on her arms when she realized…she was sinking!

She looked down and yelped as she found out she was trapped in a magical quicksand. She panicked and started waving her arms and legs desperately, trying to stay on the surface.

"The more you struggle, the sooner you'll die!" he warned as she was sinking deeper.

Gray finally got on his feet and ran towards her, but the man blocked his way with jets of sand.

"Na-uh, I don't think so. How about I play with you until your fangirl here kicks the bucket?" He tilted his head, wearing a devilish grin. "Then I can let you join her in the other world."

Gray looked at Juvia, more than half of her body was already drowned as she tried to claw her fingers on the soiled ground, then glared back at him.

"Pathetic. Is that supposed to be the number one guild in Fiore?"

He clenched his fists. "Bastard… I'll freaze you to hell!" he yelled through gritted teeth. Hurting Juvia and making light of Fairy Tail…this guy wouldn't get away with it. He hand to make it fast, otherwise Juvia would… he refused such an option. He molded as much magic as he could, _"Ice make Unlimited"_

Suna was momentarily taken aback by the chilling aura emitted all over the place.

"_Chaotic Dance!_" Countless swords, blades and axes made of ice flew on him and he turned his body into sand.

"You'll never catch me like that!" he taunted while he flew at top speed, swaying to the sides to dodge the sharp pieces of ice.

Gray smirked deviously. "I know. _Ice Geyser!_"

Too focused on avoiding the cascade of iced weapons, and unable to change direction in time due to the speed he had developed, he crashed on the ice. He turned back in his normal form and fell on the ground, too damaged to counter attack.

"_Ice make Hammer!"_ If the previous move hadn't incapacitated him enough, now he was knocked out for sure. Gray froze him to keep him in place, then ran to where Juvia was as fast as he could.

"Gray-sama-" she breathed, struggling to keep her head out of the surface.

"It's alright, I'm here." He kneeled to the side and reached his hand to her, "Just hold on my hand."

She raised her arm against the strong current and pulled her hand out of the sand. Her fingertips touched his for a moment before she sank deeper. She squeaked desperately as she fought a battle that seemed lost. This couldn't be the end. There were so many things she wanted to do, so many things to live for.

_Just a little more._

Mustering every least bit of her remaining strength, she stretched her hand and he finally grabbed it.

"I won't let it go! I won't-" he uttered, his hand clenching on hers so tight that his knuckles turned white. His blood pumped fast in his mind in a rush of adrenaline.

The pain and all the straining effort had left her completely drained, all she could do was trust him. Shutting her eyes close, she felt her body coming out, little by little.

With a powerful tug, he slumped backwards, pulling her along. Panting heavily, his arms wrapped around her tight, as though an invisible magical force would drag her back in that thing.

"It's okay now." he whispered, caressing her back as she tried to calm her breath. He sat up and pulled a little back to look at her. "Idiot! All because you jumped in the way… Why the hell did you do that? I can handle myself." There was a hint of anger in his voice. Had she not almost drowned to death just a few seconds ago, he would be yelling at her for doing something so reckless.

She lowered her eyes. "Juvia…didn't want to see you die again…"

He felt a burden settling on his chest at those words.

"Juvia swore she won't let that happen-" Her voice cracked as a tears formed in the corner of her eyes.

"_Shhh… _It's alright now." He now felt bad for reprimanding her. He knew by first hand how it felt to lose your dear ones. He knew that if he was given a second chance to prevent it, he would grasp it without a second thought and, most of all, he knew he would do the same for her as well.

He held her chin and lifted her head so that she would look at him. 'I'm not dead. And I wouldn't be anyways..."

She gave him a weak smile. "Juvia had to make sure either way." He smiled back and his hand fell softly. Then as she looked down at them, she realized she was sitting on his lap and her face turned red, "Ah- um, s- sorry…" she stuttered as she tried to shift away, but hissed in pain when she put pressure on her damaged leg.

"Ow ow ow!" she clumsily plopped on the ground.

Gray placed her leg on his lap. "Tell me where it hurts." he said, trailing his hands on her lower leg. She flinched when his fingers pressed on her ankle.

"Here?" He palmed the sensitive area with both hands and emitted cool on it. Juvia closed her eyes and sighed as she felt the cold soothing the pain.

"Seems like a nasty sprain." he mentioned, "We're pretty messed up, aren't we?"

She looked at the bruises all over his skin and laughed weakly. "I guess we are."

"That guy has some skill, no idea why he resorted to small thefts." He ripped a piece of his shirt and wrapped it around her foot an ankle, tying a knot at the top. "That will do for now. You should ask Wendy to take a look at it when we get back."

He helped her get up but she tripped midway. He placed his arms under her back and knees and picked her up, heading out of the storehouse. Her cheeks dyed in bright pink as she shyly looked up at him. Covered in dirt and bruises, he still was her prince charming.

"Hey, droopy eyes! Release me and I'll stop stealing. I promise!" Suna begged, with a tone that didn't remind his previous cocky attitude at all.

Gray looked at him. "Ain't gonna happen." He kicked teasingly the ice trapping the man. "Now stay here until they come and get you. And stop giving me annoying nicknames already."

Juvia giggled as Gray walked past him. She closed her eyes, resting her head on his chest as they made their way back to the inn.

* * *

_**AN:** Nama Wa San (Guest), it wasn't exactly the comedic relief you expected, it just turned out this way, but I hope it worked out alright? Anyways, thnx for reading!_


	7. Chapter 7

_**AN:** Well, as you might have guessed, this is the last chapter. Phew, this fic took me a while^^_

_ ._

_ ._

_Lyon appears in this one ;)_

* * *

**Chapter 7**

It had nearly been a day since they returned to Magnolia and back to their routine, and Gray felt kind of frustrated that he didn't spend as much time with Juvia. Sure, they would hang at the guild along with the others, as usual, but somehow that didn't seem enough. It felt like, even though it was for a little while, he had gotten used to being around her almost all the time.

Somehow he wanted to spend more time with her. So there he was, plopping on a chair across hers, in an effort to do so.

"Hey."

"Good morning Gray-sama!"

"How is your leg?" he asked, glancing at her still bandaged leg.

"Ever since Wendy healed it Juvia feels a lot better, though it still hurts sometimes." She saw him search in the pocked of his coat.

"Here." He placed a small vial with a thick white liquid on the table.

"What is this?" she asked curiously, examining the vial.

"It's ointment, for the pain and stuff… I got it from Porlyusica." He said, averting his eyes.

She looked up at him. "You didn't need to do that, Gray-sama..." However she was overjoyed with his gesture.

"Well, I kinda feel responsible about it..." He said, blushing slightly.

"Juvia will definitely use it!"

"You'd better! That old hag hunted me down with a broomstick."

She giggled, and then he remembered what he wanted to do. "Hey, Juvia…"

"Yes?"

He knew he wanted to spend time with her, just him and her. But he couldn't come up with a subtle way to ask.

He could ask her out. Guild mates can also spend time together apart from the guild after all… His stomach tingled at the thought of it.

"I was wondering if you'd like to…"

She was staring at him with those big curious eyes and the words were caught in his throat. How did this woman manage to make him so nervous? He wasn't nervous by nature…

"…to come on a mission with our team."

He wanted to smack his head on the table.

Her face lit up. "Juvia would love to! When her leg gets better of course…"

"Cool. Well, see you around…"

He got up and left, cursing himself inwardly.

* * *

A week passed and next thing they knew, it was the time of the year when the Harvest Festival took place and Magnolia was already in celebrating mood. Fairy Tail would hold an opening party that evening and everyone in the guild was busy with frantic preparations for the upcoming event.

"Alright! I'll definitely be Miss Fairy Tail this year!" Lucy exclaimed.

"I heard that it will be a relay race in all over the town this time…" Happy's words came to bring her down to Earthland.

"For real? I stand no chance in that… And there I was hoping for the reward. Uaah! What should I do?"

Gray listened to her rambling from the other side of the table, but didn't really pay attention. His mind was drifting a lot lately, and always around one person: Juvia.

The bluenette monopolized his thoughts, even his dreams –if he managed to get any sleep, because he was slowly turning into an insomniac.

He forced himself not to think about her and he had tried anything to keep his mind busy, from training his butt off to having the silliest of contests with Natsu, but it always found its way back to her.

And he just couldn't stop looking at her. That was in fact what he was doing at the moment as everyone, including her, was too busy helping in the preparations to notice. It had become some sort of hobby for him. To watch how she folded and unfolded her fingers every time she was nervous, the way her lips curved when she smiled…

All those little bits trailed a path to a conclusion upon which he felt utterly helpless and even terrified.

He was head over heels into Juvia.

He wondered if that's how love feels. Because, if it did, he wasn't sure he liked the feeling. As messy as they might be, he wanted to be in control of his feelings, his thoughts, and now he was losing this control in this cascade of emotions he didn't know one could feel.

But the worst part was that he had absolutely no idea how to deal with it.

"You could always talk to her." A familiar voice made him snap out of it. He glanced up and saw Erza, with a hint of a smile lingering on her lips.

He looked away to hide the blush that spread across his face, wondering for a moment if she could see through people's minds with that artificial eye of hers, and pursed his lips. "I…don't know what you are talking about."

He felt her smile widen before she spoke in a warm tone. "I think you are ready this time." She walked away, leaving him more puzzled than he already was.

Talk to her; that would be the normal thing to do, but they both weren't the definition of normal, and the situation was beyond normal as well. And tell her what?

He was never good at expressing himself this way. She was the opposite, always showing her feelings, and making it seem so easy. It was as though she had _'I love you'_ carved with neon on her forehead. At least that's how she used to be. That didn't seem to be the case anymore. But maybe she was better off without having to put up with him and his issues. After all, she deserved someone who would return her feelings before she decided to let go of them.

Meanwhile, Juvia was helping Levy in decorating the guild hall. The latter opened a box full of small lanterns. "We'll hang them on the wall and at the party they'll be lit up and light the place." she explained.

Juvia sighed excitedly. "It's going to be so pretty!"

"So how is it going with Gray?' Levy asked, handing her a lantern.

"Juvia thinks she is getting the hang of it! Of being Gray-sama's friend, you know…" She stretched her arm and hung the lantern on the wall. "Juvia would say we've gotten closer."

"That's great, Juvia!"

"It's good!" Then her smile wavered as she remembered something she wasn't sure she should be happy or sad about. "He said…he's interested in someone."

"HE DID?!" It came out so loud that a few heads turned to their direction. Levy laughed nervously. "Nevermind! We're just talking about what we're going to wear tonight. Ahaha!"

When they drifted back to what they were doing, she turned to Juvia and whispered "Did he say who?"

"No, Juvia didn't ask…" Juvia muttered.

"It could be you, y'know!" As long as she remembered, Gray had never talked about his personal life. Now admitting himself something like this, and to Juvia of all people… That meant business.

Juvia sighed. "But possibly it's not Juvia…"

Ever since he threw that bomb, she had been debating a lot about it. What hurts more; rejection, or the regret for giving up on a battle that possibly wasn't lost yet. She kept thinking about it and still she couldn't tell for sure. So she decided to wait and see, even if that would take longer than she would be able to pretend that her feelings didn't exist.

Levy remained silent. She wished she could tell her what to do; Novels were all about following your heart, but real life was not a novel.

* * *

Master Makarov walked on the stage and cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. "Listen up, everyone! It's been seven years since Fairy Tail properly celebrated the Harvest Festival!" Then his voice dropped an octave as he muttered, "Well, kind of. Last time Laxus decided to make his little revolution and-"

"Geezer!" Laxus protested from the crowd.

"Alright alright! What was I saying? Ah right! Anyway, it's been a long while so we gotta make a dynamic comeback and show 'em what we're made of! So let's party Fairy Tail style!"

The crowd burst in cheers that echoed all over the guild hall.

"That's the spirit! Live it up! Live it up!"

Gray walked past the people, scanning the place to find the others, when he heard a familiar high pitched voice. _"Wendy!"_

"_Sheria!"_

He sighed; if Sheria was there, then the rest of the gang was too. He turned around and indeed saw Lyon walking in, followed by Sherry and Jura.

"Whoa, look who's here!" Natsu shouted.

Lyon went straight to Juvia_, "Juvia-chan, it's been a while!"_

"_Lyon-sama!"_

Gray scoffed. _Lyon-sama, my ass… Why the hell does he also get to be sama?_ Was it his idea or she did sound a little too happy to see him?

He held her hands in his_. "How have you been?"_

Juvia shook her head. _"Good! You?"_

"_Good! All the better now that I see you."_

Gray felt like he was going to puke.

"_Would you like a drink, Lyon-sama?"_

Was that a giggle? He didn't catch the rest of the conversation. Jealousy was boiling in his blood and pounded fast in his head. He wanted to jump in the way and tell him to back off.

But he had no right to do that. He was late, terribly late. And maybe that's the way things should be.

He couldn't stand to watch them being so thrilled with each other's presence, nor could he afford to stay there gaping like an idiot, so he walked away.

Gajeel walked on the stage and started to sing, making everyone cover their ears at the unbearable sound and yell at him to come down, while Cana had a drinking contest with anyone that dared challenge her.

Gray was on the second floor, resting his forearms on the wooden edge as he gazed down at the guild hall with no particular interest, when he felt a pat on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw Lyon.

"Hey." he muttered indifferently.

"Didn't see you all night." the other ice mage said as he leaned his back against the railing, arms crossed under his chest.

"Missed me?" he joked half-heartedly.

"Ew no!" Gray chuckled weakly at his reaction, but he didn't fail to notice that his fellow disciple was not in a particularly good mood. "How's it going?" he asked.

Gray shrugged. "Same."

He sighed. Ever since they were kids, it was always hard to tear words out of Gray. "Well...what about Juvia?"

He peered at him with the corner of his eye, before averting his gaze. He didn't want to talk about the situation with Juvia; it was something he kept sealed within the safety of his mind, where thoughts ignited more thoughts and undisclosed emotions which always seemed to lead him to an impasse, but whatever, It worked out for him somehow, it was nobody's business, and he didn't intend to share it with anyone.

"You know," Lyon started, as he turned to rest on his forearms, "I didn't back out for you to do nothing about it."

He finally looked at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Gray…I know you have feelings for her."

"You know nothing." He scoffed to hide his embarrassment and the undeniable truth in those words. "I'm not having this talk with you."

"It's there! _I_ can see it, I'm sure _you_ can see it, actually I bet other people can tell too. So why don't you tell her already?"

He clenched his jaw. As much as Lyon's persistence irritated him, hearing it so bluntly by someone else made everything much more tactile, and so painfully real. He watched the white haired man almost glaring at him now, demanding the goddamn reason why he's been holding back all this time, why he hasn't been honest with her and himself as well.

As if he could understand.

Then again, maybe he could relate more than he had thought.

His mouth parted and the words slipped out almost like whisper as he muttered "…not safe…"

Lyon's brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"I'm afraid, alright?" he yelled, startling Lyon. He didn't bother to keep his voice low as it wouldn't reach down at where everyone else was anyways. "Ever since I remember myself, I'm losing people I care about! And it hurts. Big time!" First, it was the loss of his parents. Then Ur gave away her life because of him. Ultear, the only one closer to a motherly figure he had ever since, did the same. Anyone who dared care for him, or he deeply cared for, had left his side to the point that sometimes he even thought he was the one to bring them misfortune. He remembered the job he had with Juvia the previous week. It was a simple mission, yet she got in great danger just to protect him.

"I've had enough of it and I'm not going through that again." he blurted before looking away.

Lyon remained silent for a while. When he had decided to talk to him about it, he took a few guesses on how it would go; best case scenarios, worst case scenarios... But he certainly didn't expect the emotional outburst that had just transpired. He couldn't blame him though. Ur's death had taken its toll on him as well, and he knew better than anyone how that must have felt for him.

It took him some time to think what he was going to say before he spoke again. "Alright, um… look over there."

Gray followed his gaze down at the first floor and looked over his guild mates chatting and laughing. Somewhere among the crowd he saw Natsu and Lucy in the middle of a rather clumsy dance with him stepping on her foot every few seconds; a few meters away he spotted Erza and Wendy eyeing sneakily the array of desserts on the buffet; at the other side Cana was sprayed on a table, laughing her heart out, completely drunk as she was.

"You care about them, right?"

He was slow to catch up his question but nodded when he did.

"And we both know they care a lot about you too." Lyon added. "And, see? They look very happy to me."

Gray looked back at him and he knew he was getting his point. "Bad things happen, but that's not all there is in life, and you can't let those define what you're going to do with it."

Gray didn't speak, contemplating what he was saying and Lyon felt like they were in the middle of a session with him in the role of the psychologist. Truth be told, he never expected he would be giving Gray life advice. But, well, he owed him one. "Look, I've lived a good seven years more than you, so I'm gonna tell you this, and you can take on the advice or trash it. Love, or call it whatever you want, is a good thing. It feels really nice. Embrace it, don't push it away. Because by staying on the safe side, you're losing something far better."

Silence followed until Gray looked away. "It doesn't matter anymore. She…doesn't feel this way now."

Lyon stared at him for a few moments, before he burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" he pouted.

"Sorry but-" he fought back the laughs that were still coming, "Sometimes you make me wonder about your brains, Gray. You really think that this girl." He pointed at Juvia with his eyes, "is over you?"

Gray looked at her too. As though she felt their gaze pinned on her, Juvia turned around. Their eyes met and she flashed a wide smile, waving her hand happily towards them. He was still proceeding what was going on, but remembered to nervously wave back at her.

"In case you didn't notice, she's smiling for _you_. Idiot!" Lyon murmured while smiling at her, acting like they were having a casual friendly talk instead of a very serious conversation that it actually was.

When she drifted back to her activities, the white haired man turned back at him and furrowed his brows, prompting him to say or do something.

He debated for a brief moment before he spoke. "Then…what was that when you came in?"

"Ah, that! Yeah, we've become good friends you know."

Gray raised an eyebrow.

Lyon rolled his eyes at his disbelief. "It's not meant to be me, but _you_. Now go before I change my mind!"

He didn't wait for him to finish his sentence. He rushed to the staircase and run down the stairs, noting to thank him sometime, if things went well. He almost stumbled at the last step and cursed out loud when he saw the crowd of mages suddenly cluster even more, making it impossible for him to walk through and he wondered what all that commotion was for.

Meanwhile, Mira placed a huge disk on the bar and people coiled around. "Fortune cookies for everyone!"

Gajeel mumbled something about it being stupid and reluctantly took one. He crushed the cookie in his hand and read the note that was inside. "_Everyone has a soft side. Maybe you should show yours more. _What kind of bullshit is that?"

Juvia patted his shoulder excitedly. "Way to go Gajeel-kun, that was amazing! It's Juvia's turn now!" She took the cookie that was on top and pressed between her hands. She unfolded the piece of paper and read the quote out loud. "_The greatest risk is not taking one._"

_The greatest risk is not taking one… _she repeated in her head and as the words rolled in her mind she realized it was just what she needed. It might be a sign, or it might be a total coincidence, but it was all it took to shake the doubt away. Just when did she lose faith in the power of her feelings? They changed her long ago, they could change his mind as well. As long as that might take. And maybe that that day was not that far away. All she had to do was take the risk. Then again, he might reject her. So what? One more turn down to add to the list. She wasn't new to it after all. It didn't bother her before, and she couldn't let fear hold her back, not now at least. She could worry about it again later on, but now she just knew she had to try.

She pushed her way through the people, and her eyes roamed around to find Gray. At some point she found a path where the crowd was not that thick and eased in, until she bumped on him.

"Gray-sama!Juvia was looking for you,"

"Hey, um…wanna go for a walk?" he asked.

She grinned widely. "Sure!"

They walked the rest of the way out together and strolled down the road. Gray had no idea what he was going to say, but he was sure it was going to suck majorly, so he thought it should at least be at some nice place and he subconsciously led them towards the park. They remained silent for several moments.

"Juvia wants to tell you something."  
"I need to tell you something."

Gray rubbed the back of his neck. "You go first."

"O- Okay!" She thought it might be better not to go all out at once. "Well, there's the parade in a couple of days... Would you like to do something with Juvia? Like the last time! Please?"

"Sure, we can do that." He gave her a questioning look. "Is that…all?"

"For now, yes! It's Gray sama's turn now…"

"Alright…" He stopped walking, causing her to stop as well. She was looking up at him, hands folded behind her back, sending a pinch in his heart, making it skip beats to the point he thought he would have arrhythmia by the end of it and he felt like the gears in his head had stopped functioning. He didn't know how to begin; he didn't fully comprehend this mysterious emotion himself, how was he supposed to tell her about it? He just rushed to find her without thinking what he was going to say.

"So…remember you said the other day that we…are friends?" he asked nervously.

Her smile dropped. "Yes, Juvia said that… But-"

He chuckled at how ridiculously impossible that option sounded to him now. "Well...screw that!" he blurted out, startling her. That didn't sound the way he wanted, but he had made a start, clumsy as it was and there was no turning back. "It's not enough for me. I want more, so much more, I-" he ran his hand through his hair, all those suppressed emotions were burning his chest as they were finally being adressed.

Juvia wanted to slap herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming or hallucinating, but her heart that pounded so fast in her chest that she thought it would pop out of her ribcage at any minute felt too real.

"You make me feel funny, right here…" he placed a hand over the left side of his chest, "I really don't know any other way to tell you. I l- lo- …Dammit! I love you!"

Her breath was caught in her throat and she covered her mouth with her hand as she stared at him with those wide cerulean eyes. It was hasty and she barely made sense out of the words, but she heard it. "C- Come again?"

He was almost panting because of his racing heart. "Sheez, you're gonna make me say it again?" he asked in a low voice, although a faint smile tweaked his lips.

She nodded with a small laugh, fighting back some tears that gleamed in her eyes.

He stepped closer and his hands placed on her waist as hers slid up on his shoulders. He thought this was getting too cheesy for his taste, but it happened to wrap up what he felt just perfectly. His eyes traced hers as he sucked in a deep breath. "I love you, Juvia."

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at him, amazed and insanely happy.

"I didn't say that to make you cry, you know…" he muttered.

"It's just," she sniffed, "Juvia is so happy! And Juvia loves you too! I love you!"

Gray chuckled at her reaction and rubbed his thumb across her cheek, wiping the tears. "Good."

His fingers brushed some stray blue locks behind her ear and tangled in her hair. He slowly leaned forward and watched as her lids lowered, hooding her eyes. He gently pressed his lips on hers and her eyes shut close as she melted into the kiss.

As much as she had dreamt and fantasized about this moment, it exceeded all of her expectations. It was beyond amazing and she could feel fireworks busting in her stomach while he pressed his lips more. It was salty from the tears, but Gray couldn't care less, savoring the addictive feeling he has been denying for so long. His tongue swept across her lower lip and she parted her mouth. Her hand reached up and cupped the back of his head as she tilted her head, deepening the kiss, their tongues colliding in a slow rhythm.

They parted, and he rested his forehead on hers; she was glad he was holding her because her limbs had gone numb. "I'm sorry it took me so long…" he whispered.

Juvia looked up at his dark blue eyes and smiled. "Well, better late than never."

He chuckled softly and guessed she was right.

"Gray-sama?"

"What?" he asked silently, while his hand trailed the line of her jaw.

"Can you kiss Juvia again?"

He smiled widely "I was planning to."

But before he knew, she had pulled him in a long, tender kiss on her own.

She craved for this moment for so long, and he made her wait for what it felt like ages, but it was so worth the wait.

**The end**

* * *

_**AN:** So this is it... I hope you enjoyed it and I'd love to hear your thoughts :) _

_Thanks for sticking with this story and for all your reviews! It took me lots of time to write it and your nice words made it all worth it! I'd like to give a hyper-extra-mega thank you to those who commented on my writing (7HeartAndSoul7, xxKaiyaxx, xxKelseyLovexx, Neliel Von Schweetz), because english is not my native language and I don't even read much, like, the only books I've read are the princess diaries series, Harry Potter and some Sophie Kinsella novels, so hearing that someone actually likes my average writing makes me feel that I've accomplished something._

_I debated whether I should have Gray say the L word, but I wanted to make a story where Gray would love Juvia as much as she loves him so there you go! Hope it's not too OOC. What else um...I found the quote of Juvia's fortune cookie on the Internet. _

_Now let's all wait for the big Gruvia development that Mashima has in store for us! I hope he's not just trolling us hehe_


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